Friday’s Buzz: 9.13.13

Now that the Democratic primary election is over, city Republicans are preparing to run a slate of candidates for the Board of Aldermen. Two years ago, no Republicans ran for spots on the Board, meaning the current Board is comprised of only Democrats. This November, there are four Republican candidates hoping to break the single party rule. Among the four Republicans running is Paul Chandler ’14, who is challenging incumbent Sarah Eidelson ’12 in Yale’s Ward 1 and is the first Republican to run for the position in 20 years.

The Broadway district acquired another Euro-chic cafe this week, with the partial opening of Maison Mathis. On Monday, the Belgian themed-restaurant, located on Elm street between Park and York, had a soft opening, serving a limited menu and remaining open for fewer hours than will soon become usual. The partial opening is preparation for the full opening, said general manager Kelly Festo, which will likely take place in the next couple of weeks. The restaurant is vying to be a replacement for Au Bon Pain, the cafe that used to occupy the spot at One Broadway, but it remains unclear whether students will adopt Maison Mathis as a substitute for the previous Broadway district cafe.

With enrollment now open for Yale’s first four courses on Coursera — a platform for Massive Online Open Courses, or MOOCs — faculty are leading efforts to test different forms of online education, funded by two major donations on the horizon. University President Peter Salovey said the Committee on Online Education will look into and test out other forms of online education in addition to the Coursera courses using the donations to find the form best for Yale. The University’s effort to expand its programs in online education will be faculty-driven and the University may develop its own online course platform using the funds..